What to eat in Tours?

1. Touraine Rillons

This dish, part of the Touraine terroir, is a must-try if you're ever passing through the city. They're actually small pieces of pork belly that have been spiced with different aromatics and browned to achieve a nice color. To finish, they're preserved in their fat before being served, in a delicious scent of melted bacon. It's the most consumed charcuterie among the people of Tours: with a few slices of bread, a piece of quiche, or a fresh salad, it does the trick!

2. Poire Tapée

It's a much appreciated dessert! The pears are peeled, dehydrated, and finally flattened in what's called a "pâtissoire". Then they can be preserved for several days before being tasted. Legend even tells that they were prioritized in fishermen's provisions when they went to sea for a long time, to make sure they wouldn't starve. Some people like to consume poire tapée in wine, apparently it pairs very well with this exquisite beverage!

3. Saint-Maure cheese

Some say it's a cheese beyond cheese. Made from particularly soft and firm raw goat milk, you'll find it without great difficulty in the city of Tours. With a few slices of bread, it makes an excellent aperitif or a snack for tea time. It's one of the oldest cheeses in the world, born centuries ago in the Touraine region. Today, with its natural rind and soft paste, it delights the taste buds of young and old.

4. Fouée Tourangelle

It's a small round brioche made essentially of honey, spices and walnuts, in addition to classic ingredients such as flour and milk. As soon as you taste one, you'll succumb immediately! Slightly puffed, they have a reputation for being soft, as if you were biting into a piece of cloud. Created during the Middle Ages, it's possible to stuff the little balls with Saint-Maure cheese (the one and only) or other types of sweet fillings. But apparently, they would be most enjoyable at their natural taste: when honey takes over your taste buds, you can only appreciate it.

5. Andouillette with Vouvray

If you're a meat lover, and more broadly, of charcuterie as a whole, then you'll be delighted to discover Andouillette with Vouvray. It's a sort of sausage made with tripe cut finely into strips, then wrapped around pork casing. Seasoned with salt, pepper and a few other spices, it's an essential French dish that has its origins in the city of Tours. What's interesting is that depending on how it's cooked: baked, barbecued, or otherwise, it never has exactly the same taste. So, it's up to you to know from which angle you prefer it!

6. Tours Nougat

A bit of sugar to fuel this list is not unwelcome! Tours nougat is delicious and flavorful, no one will tell you otherwise (unless they hate everything related to pastry). What does it contain? A shortbread pastry that hides apricot marmalade jam, accompanied by candied fruits (some like to add the famous poire tapée). Sprinkled with powdered sugar, you'll also taste the flavor of the unbeatable almond macaronade. To be consumed without moderation!

7. Touraine wines

Are you more of a red, white, or rosé wine type? Know that in Tours, you'll have choices, the city being known for its prestigious and exceptional wines due to the Touraine vineyards that line the region. This sometimes sweet nectar that goes down your throat will pair very well with a delicious meat-based dish. We highly recommend "Vouvray" and "Montlouis" for red wines (they're the most popular). For white wines, why not try the savory "AOC Chinon"? You'll tell us all about it!

8. Tourangelle Salad

Nothing better than a fresh and low-calorie dish if you're looking for more plant-based than animal flavors. Tourangelle salad is one of the most appreciated salads in France. At the same time, it features so many ingredients that it can only be loved by the public: potatoes, tomatoes, aromatics, crispy lettuce, green beans, rillons, Tours rillettes... It's a light dish perfect for lunch, especially in summer to cool off under the blazing sun.

9. Beuchelle Tourangelle

It's a dish that must be cooked to perfection to be properly served. With veal sweetbreads and kidneys, accompanied by some vegetables, it's very clearly the kind of meal you'll find at the top of the menu if you enter a restaurant in Tours. What makes all its charm and international renown? The delicious creamy mushroom sauce sprinkled on the meat makes it unique. It's also a dish paying tribute to the famous French chef Edouard Nignon. One bite, and you'll be carried away in a torrent of flavors!

10. Géline Ballottine

Coming from a hen breed from Touraine, the truffle Géline Ballottine is cooked with a porcini sauce whose secret only Tours chefs know. This dish has a reputation for being slightly melting in the mouth, especially when accompanied by mashed potatoes. It's certain that after your tasting, you'll want more, and maybe even settle in Tours, just for it!